Valve



April l5, 1941. s, KNEAss, JR

VALVE 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 19, 1939 R s) M RE mm N Em VA mm m 6 IWW@ A'TTOR Narni/ April l5, 1941.

S. KNEASS, JR

VALVE Filed Oct. 19, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet? Jul-:l

l INVENTOR srRlcKLANn KNEAss,-/R.

BV dauw@ @c 'T'TORNE Y April 15, 1941. s. KNEAss, JR

VALVE Filed 001'.. 19, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEJNTOR STRICKLAND KNEAss,/R. MMP@ @#55,

ATTOJQJSIE;I

Patented Apr. 15, 1941 VALVE Strickland Kneass, Jr., Worcester, Mass., assigner to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester,

Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application October 19, 1939, Serial No. 300,135

' bodiment of the invention and in `which like ref-A` 2 Claims.

This invention relates to valves, and more particularly to valves of the type having two relatively movable parts one of which'provides an` opening for the flow of fluid and the other of which forms a valve member adapted to prevent flow through'the opening when desired.

Valves of this general type are well-known, and have lbeen used heretofore forcontrolling various fluids. Certain difii'culties arise, however, when such valves are used to control producer gas or similar fluids which carry tar, soot, or other impurities in suspension. Such foreign matter becomes deposited on the various parts and may prevent the valve from closing tightly. The resultant leakage may cause explosions or other disastrous happenings.

Itis accordingly the main object of the yinvention to provide a valve which can be tightly closed to prevent leakage despite the deposit of foreign matter from the controlled fluid.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a valve particularly suitable for .the control -of producer gas or similar fluids carrying tar, soot, or other impurities in suspension, and adapted to be tightly closed despite the deposit of such matteron the cooperating surfaces of the valve.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the'art, the in vention resides in the combination of parts set forth `in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

In accordance withmy invention in its preferred form, I provide a valve having two cooperating parts one of which provides an opening for the flow of fluid,A with a seat surrounding the opening, and the other of whichforms a valve member adapted to engage the seat and close the opening. These parts are relatively movable so that the valvemay be opened and closed, and provision is made to effect a relative sliding movement between the parts as the closed position is approached, at a rate independent of the speed of approach, whereby any deposited foreign matter may loel either'forced from between the parts or at least spread `out in a substantially uniform manner to form a seal. Preferably I provide a stationaryannular valve `seat and an axially reciprocable cincular valve member which cooperates therewith, with operating mechanism for the valve member arranged to turn said member about its axis as it approaches the` seat and thereby bringabout `the desired sliding or rubbing action.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one emerence numerals indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through 4a valve, taken approximately on the line vI--I of Fig. 2, with the valve in its closed position; I Fig. 2 `is an elevation of the valve, taken ln the direction of the arrow 2in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on theline 3 3 of Fig. 1; y l

` Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on theline 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section on the 'and l Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1,- but rshowing thevalve in its open position. l

The embodiment illustrated comprises a valve body or casing I 0 shaped to provide a circular port or opening Il surrounded by an. annular` valve seat I2. This casing Ill is mounted in a wall I4 of refractory material in whichthere is provided an inlet passage lI5 and an outlet passage I6. These parts are so constructed and arranged that producer gas or other uid'may flow upwardly through the inlet passageV I5 .and thence through the port II intothe interior of the casing I0, which communicates directly with the outlet passage I6. The iiow through .the port II is controlled by means of a valve memlme 5 5A of Fig. 4;

lber I8 inthe form of,` a icincular disk mounted on .the inner end of a horizontal rodor stem I9.

The stem I9 is coaxial with the diskand extends outwardly through a bearing -20 Aformed in a frame 2|, this frame being secured -to the outer side of the valve body I0 and providing a closure therefor. l

Means is provided to slide the valve stem I9 through the bearing '20, and thereby reciprocate the valve member lI8 axially to Sand from the seat I2. For this purpose .there is .provided a motor comprislnga vertical cylinder 23, a piston 24 slidable therein, and a piston rod 25 extending upwardly from the piston. The upper end of the rod 25 is` connected by a link 2ly to one arm of a bell crank lever 28.which is -fulcrumed on a horizontal pin 29 carried by a bracket 30 mounted on the frame 2|. The` other armof the bell crank lever is formed as a U-shaped yoke-32 which extendsupwardly on lboth sides of the valve stem. This yoke is provided .with openings 33 (Fig. 3) toreceive-rollers 34 carried by pins 35 which extend horizontally from a collar 31, lthis collar surrounding the valve stem between a pair of axially spaced ilanges38 (Fig. 1) formed thereon. For convenience in assembly, the collar 31 isA manufacturedin ltwo pieces which are bolted together. In order to control the movements of the piston 24, there is shown a four-way valve 40 of the rotary-plug type connected by pipes 4| and 42 to the upper and lower ends respectively of the cylinder 23. The valve 40 is supplied with a suitable pressure fluid, such as water, through a pipe 43, and an exhaust pipe 44 is likewise connected to the valve. With the valve 40 in the position shown in Fig. 1, fluid will be admitted to the lower end of the cylinder 23 and exhausted from the upper end, so that the piston 24 will be raised, and the port will be closed by the disk |8.

With the parts as so far described, tar and soot carried in suspension by the producer gas will be deposited on the valve seat |2 and on the disk I8 when the valve is open. This deposit will not be a uniform one, but on the contrary it may be very irregular. Consequently, when an attempt, is made to close the valve this foreign matterY will hold the disk away from the seat and allow considerable leakage between these parts throughout portions of the circumference. In order to overcome this diiiiculty, the disk is turned about its axis as it approaches the seat, so that the disk will either cut through the deposited foreign matter and make actual contact with the seat or spread the foreign matter around the circumference with substantial uniformity to provide `an effective seal between the parts. For this purpose there is shown a second motor comprising a vertical cylinder 46, a piston 41 slldable therein, and a rod 48 extending upwardly from the piston.

The rod 48 is connected to the lower end of a vertical rack 5|] which is slidably supported in a guideway formed by a bracket 5| mounted on the frame 2|. This rack meshes with a pinion 52 having two hubs (Fig. 5) which are rotatably supported in bearings in the bracket 5|. 'I'he pinion and its hubs are formed with a multiplesplined bore 56 through which the outer portion of the valve stem |9 extends. This portion of the valve stem is shaped to iit the bore 56 so that it may slide therethrough but cannot rotate relative to thepinion.

The movements of the piston 41 are controlled by means of a four-way' pilot valve mechanism comprising a valve 58 slidable vertically in a casing 59. Fluid under pressure is supplied to the central portion of this casing by a pipe leading from the pipe 43, and the end portions of the casing communicatewith the exhaust pipe 44 through a pipe 62. The upper and lower ends of the cylinder 46 are connected by pipes 63 and 64 respectively to the valve casing 59. These various parts are so arranged that when the valve 58 is in its lowerV position, as shown in Fig. 1, fluid will be admitted through pipe 84 to the lower end of the cylinder 46, and the. piston' 41 willy be in its raised position. When the valve 58 is raised to the position shown in Fig. 6, fluid will be admitted to the upper end of the cylinder 46, and the piston 41 will be in its lower position.

Means is provided to reverse the valve 58 autothe pressure of the spring. A lug 1,8 projects outl wardiy from the link 21 in such a manner as to the port to the outlet passage |6.

engage the short or unweighted end ofthe lever 61 during downward movement of the link, and to engage a cam surface 12 on the long or weighted end of the lever. Thus during upward movement of the piston 24 the lever 61 will swing counterclockwise into the position shown in Fig. 1, whereas during downward movement of this piston the lever will swing clockwise into the position shown in Fig. 6.

'Ihe operation of the invention will now be apparent from the above disclosure. Assuming that lthe parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 6,

with th'e main valve I8 open, gas will flow upwardly from the passage l5 and thence through Soot and tar will be deposited from the gas stream on the valve I8 and its seat |2. When it is desired to close the main valve, the four-way valve 4D will be turned to the position shown in Fig. 1, admitting fluid from the pipe 43 through the pipe 42 to the lower end of the cylinder 23.` This will raise the piston 24, which will act through the rod 25, link 21 and bell crank lever 23 to slide the valve stem |9 and main valve I8 inwardly toward closed position. Shortly before the valve reaches its closed position the lug 18 will engage the cam surface 12 and tip the lever 61 in a counterclockwise direction, causing it to drop on the valve stem 68 and force the valve 58 downwardly in opposition to the pressure of the spring 86. This will admit iiuid through the pipes 60 and 64 to the lower end of the cylinder 46, raising the piston 41, rod 48 and rack 50. 'Ihe rack will rotate the pinion 52, and this rotation will be transmitted through the valve stem |9 to the main valve |8. This rotation of the main valve during its nal closing movement will cause the valve to either cut entirely through the deposited soot and tar or at least spread this deposited material substantially uniformly around the circumference of the valve seat. In either event a tight and leakproof seal is obtained. Since the rate lof rotation of the valve member about its axis is independent of the speed at which it approaches its seat, the desired rubbing action will ytake place even though the deposited foreign matter is of such a nature as substantially to prevent further closing movement. During such rotation, the piston 24 will urge the valve member yieldingly toward closed position.` When the main valve is to be opened again, the four-way valve 40 will be moved to the position shown in Fig. 6, admitting fluid through the pipe 4| to the upper end of the cylinder 23. This will force the piston 24 downwardly, and through the action of the bell crank lever 28 the main valve will be moved outwardly. During the downward movement of the link 21 the lug 10 will engage the short arm of the lever 61 and tilt it in a clockwise direction into the upright position shown in Fig. 6, where it will remain. This will allow the spring 66 to force the valve 58 upwardly, admitting fluid through pipe 63 to the upper end of the cylinder 46, and causing the piston 41 and the rack 50 to be lowered to their initial positions.

The entire construction is relatively simple and inexpensive, and thoroughly dependable. Because of the rugged nature of the mechanism and its adaptability for remote control, it is well suited for installation in comparatively inaccessible places.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure vby Letters Patent is:

1. A valve comprising means providing an annular valve seat which surrounds an opening for the oW of fluid, a circular valve member mounted for reciprocation along its axis into or out of contact with the seat to control the lovv through the opening, a motor arranged to reciprocate the valve member, a second motor arranged to turn the valve member about its axis, and means to bring the second motor into action as the valve member approaches the seat.

2. A valve comprising means providing an annular Valve seatwhich surrounds 4an opening for the ow of fluid, a circular valve member mounted for 10 the seat.

STRICKLAND KNEASS, JR. 

